WASHINGTON (AFP) — Former Bush White House spokesman Scott McClellan is backing Democrat Barack Obama for president, CNN reported Thursday.
McClellan, who was the face of the Republican administration of President George W. Bush for three years, told CNN in an interview that Obama has the best chance of getting things done in Washington, compared to his rival, Republican Senator John McCain.
"From the very beginning I've said I'm going to support the candidate who has the best chance of changing the way Washington works and getting things done," McClellan said, according to a transcript of the interview to be broadcast on Friday.
"I will be voting for Barack Obama," he said.
McClellan, 40, served as White House spokesman from 2003 to 2006, during which time he steadfastly defended the US war in Iraq against harsh attacks from Democrats and the media.
Earlier this year he published a book covering his time in the job, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that deeply criticized his former employer but also hit out at the US media for too easily accepting the early justifications for the war.
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